A blaring smoke alarm woke the male resident asleep Wednesday morning inside his home at 108 Sherwood Blvd., in White Rock. Fire officials believe that noisy smoke alarm just may have saved his life.

“The resident was asleep when the fire started at about 10:20 a.m. and the growth rate was so much that the smoke detector may have saved his life,” Los Alamos Fire Marshal Jeff Wetteland said this morning. “The resident informed us that he had very recently changed the batteries and this is a good reminder for everyone to change their batteries.”

It appears a gas wall heater in a den area was the source of the fire caused when some nearby combustibles ignited, Wetteland said.

“It’s a good lesson to the rest of us to use extreme caution when first turning on space heaters for the season,” Wetteland said. “We’ve had a mild fall so people haven’t used their heating devices. Preventative maintenance is key … these devices should be thoroughly checked, the filter changed and any debris and combustible items should be cleared from the area around the heater.”

Los Alamos Firefighters knocked down Wednesday’s house fire quickly and did not let it spread to adjacent homes. Wetteland explained that while there are some salvageable areas structurally, there was a significant amount of damage to the home and it is not inhabitable at this time.

“In my time at LAFD I have witnessed a tremendous outpouring from the community whenever a fire damages a home and uproots the family … not only for the folks in the Sherwood home but all victims,” Wetteland said.